


I'm Glad I met You

by SouseisekiAmazing



Series: The Protectors and Their Babies [2]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga), Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019), Miracle Simulator (Webcomic), The Great Library Series - Rachel Caine, Tortall - Tamora Pierce, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Arthur's a bitch spread the word - my friend, Dark Topics Discussed (Mild at Most), Drama, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut (Perhaps), Falling In Love, Fights, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Humor, Implied/Referenced Sex, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Sexism (I think?), Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 5,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22522660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouseisekiAmazing/pseuds/SouseisekiAmazing
Summary: [The college AU no one asked for :)]It's a new year. School has started up once again for students to learn to get their dream jobs. Old friends reunite, and new friends fall in love. Join this group of friends on their journey through college.[Original Title: Welcome to Wellrick University]
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep & Ash Lynx, Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep/Keladry of Mindelan, Jess Brightwell & Nealan of Queenscove, Jess Brightwell/Thomas Schreiber, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope & Eiji Okumura & Milo Park, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Kim Taehyung | V, Keladry of Mindelan & Nealan of Queenscove, Kim Taehyung | V & Eiji Okumura & Milo Park, Milo Park/Felix Torres, Player & Felix Torres, Player/Sing Soo-Ling
Series: The Protectors and Their Babies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587862
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Moving In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Read series description to have a better understanding of the series name and idea behind this fic.]

Carmen packed the last of her belongings in her suitcase. She let out a sigh and took one last look around her room.

"This is it," she said aloud. "Today is the day I start a new chapter." She then grabbed her luggage and locked the door behind her.

* * *

Carmen arrived in New York a few hours later.

"Wow, this place is big," she thought as she unpacked. She placed her Russian nesting dolls on the shelf over her bed. Next to it, she put a box filled with photos. Once everything was in place, she plopped down on her bed. Carmen laid there for a while before looking over at the empty bed on her left.

"I wonder who my roommate will be," she thought. As if on cue, keys were heard unlocking the door. Carmen sat up and saw a girl with short brown hair.

"Hi," the girl said with a smile, "you must be my new roommate. I'm Keladry, but you can call me Kel." Carmen returned her smile.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Carmen." Kel bit the inside of her cheek to keep the blush rising to her face at bay.

"So, where are you from?" she asked Carmen as she unpacked her boxes.

"I'm from Cape Cod. And you?"

"Connecticut, originally."

"Really? You kinda have a-"

"A British accent? Yeah, I lived in Manchester since I was twelve."

"That sounds cool. Did you enjoy it there?"

"I did. Though, I did miss Kent." Kel set her lucky cats on her own shelf. "What degree are you getting here?"

"I'm studying to be a lawyer. And you?"

"Social services."

"Nice. Looks like we have the same paths, almost." Carmen said with a smile.

"Yeah," Kel said smiling back. "I like you. I think we're going to get along just fine."

"I think so too."


	2. Roommates and Old Mates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my friend for the title!

Classes started the next day. Those with morning classes were hitting their alarms and either falling back asleep or getting ready. One of those deciding to wake up was a brunette bookworm. He let out a yawn as he sat up to turn off his phone alarm. He looked through his notifications, then looked over at his blonde roommate. The only thing he saw was a big blanket lump on the bed.

He rolled his eyes and got up to take a shower. When he got out, he saw his roommate was still asleep.

"Did he even set an alarm?" he asked himself. He looked at the time and saw his shower lasted for about ten minutes. "He still has time if he hurries."

The brown-headed Brit walked up to the lump and started to pull on the blanket. From what little time he knew him, he reminded him of his brother, so he knew exactly how to get him up.

"Come on, Ash, it's time to get up," he said. The lump started to fight back. "Don't try this with me, I'm used to it."

He heard an annoyed groan, then saw a face pop out. Stunning jade eyes stared into the Brit's soul angrily, then a hand tugged harshly on the brunette's ear. Ash dug his nail into his roommate's ear lobe as he pulled on it.

"Are you used to this then, Jess?" he said darkly. Jess raised his hand and dug his nails into Ash's wrist.

"On the contrary, yes, I am, but nice try." Ash made a huffing noise and smirked.

"Then you'll do just fine." He let go and trudged his way to the bathroom, leaving Jess standing there covering his ear.

"This will be a long year."

* * *

The morning passed by fast for most students, and Jess was no exception. As he replayed his classes in his head, he walked into someone. He dropped his books and landed on the floor with them.

"Hey, watch it," the person said irritably.

"Same to you," he replied tartly and looked at the student. It was a guy with light brown hair swept back by a widow's peak. However, it was his eyes that caught Jess's attention. They were a deep green, reminding Jess of someone he once knew. Then it clicked.

"Neal?" he asked dumbfounded. The other looked up at the call of his name.

"Jess?" They sat on the floor studying each other for a minute. Then they scrambled to their feet and landed on the floor again via hug.

"I can't believe it's you!"

"Same here! It's been so long!"

They stood up still rambling to each other as others tried to pass them discreetly.

"We have so much to catch up on!"

"We do! Hey, I'm going to that cafe on campus. Wanna join?"

"Sure!"

"Great! Oh, and you can meet my friend, Kel."

"Alright! Can I bring Thomas, then?"

"Sure!"


	3. Familiar Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, shoutout to my discord friend

Milo yawned as his roommate's alarm went off. Fortunately for him, he had no morning classes he needed to rush to. He sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as his German roommate scurried around gathering his things for class.

" _Guten morgen,_ Milo." Milo felt a small smile on his face. He liked it when other's were comfortable talking in their native languages.

" _Joheun achimieyo,_ Thomas." He stretched his arms as Thomas finished gathering his books.

"I'll see you later. Bye!"

"Bye!" Milo let out a sigh after his roommate was gone. Then he laid back down to sleep.

* * *

After lunch was his first class. The door was open to the students, and there was already a student sitting in the front. Milo decided to sit next to him in hopes to make a new friend. He had black hair that looked quite soft.

"Hi!" he said. The boy looked up from his book. He had brown doe eyes that shone with happiness.

"Hello! I'm Eiji, nice to meet you!" A Japanese accent to accompaniment these looks.

"Nice to meet you too! I'm Milo!"

"Milo? That's a nice name."

"Thanks. Yours is too!"

"Thanks!" Eiji closed his book. "So, where are you from?"

"Canada. And you?"

"Japan."

"Nice. Have you ever been outside of Japan before?"

"Yep. I used to live in Korea."

"You did?" Milo knew an Eiji in Korea. "Did you happen to know Kim Taehyung?"

"I did," Eiji replied slowly. "And Jung Hoseok?"

"Yeah. What about Bak Yohan?" Something lit up in Eiji's eyes as he nodded. "Dude, that was my name when I lived in Korea." They stared at each other until they started making incoherent noises.

"It's so great to see you!"

"You too! You've changed on me!"

"So have you!"

"How have you been?"

"Great! And you?"

"Great! You need to catch me up on your life!"

"So do you! Hey, Taehyung is my roommate, and Hoseok is also here. Maybe after classes, we can all go out to eat somewhere?"

"That would be great!"

"Then it's a plan!" As they continued to talk, they started to slip into Korean. As the day went on, they anxiously waited for their last class to finish, and when the bell finally rang, Eiji quickly made his way to his dorm to let Taehyung know about dinner.


	4. Beyond the Screen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend is amazing and confident thank you Alani we stan these titles.

Hoseok quickly ran back to his dorm. When he got the door open, he saw his roommate at his computer.

"Oh hey, what's going on?"

"The greatest thing ever!" he said smiling brightly. He dug through his bag for his portable charger and saw it wasn't charged. "Dang it."

"What?"

"My charger isn't charged."

"You can borrow mine, then."

"Really?" Hoseok's eyes lit up.

"Yeah. I'm not going anywhere tonight."

"Thanks, Felix!" He grabbed the Hispanic boy's charger off the dresser. "Next time, we'll do something together! Promise!" Felix chuckled at him.

"That's very sweet of you, Hoseok. Have fun tonight."

"Thanks!" Then the Korean promptly hurried out the door.

Felix put his headphones back on. He checked his Discord and saw he had a message from his friend, Player. Player was someone he met on a game. Since then, they've been friends ever since.

'Hey, how are you? I would have replied earlier, but I had class.' Felix started to type back.

'My day has been good, and it's fine. And your's?' He saw Player was typing back.

'Good. How's college treating you?'

'It's going good so far. How is yours?'

'Good. What school are you going to anyway?'

'It's called Wellrick.'

'No way! Mine is too! In New York?'

'Yeah!' Felix couldn't believe. 'What's your dorm number?'

'307.' Felix grabbed his phone and key and ran out of the room. He looked around for room 307, and after a few minutes found it. He knocked on the door, and a boy a few inches shorter than he was opened it.

"Hi, I'm Felix!" Player was stunned.

"His name's Oliver," his roommate said from behind his book. "And I'm Neal. Come on in."

"Nice to meet you, Neal."

"Do you want me to leave so you two can talk?"

"I'm alright. That's up to Player." Neal tore off a piece of his chocolate and threw it at Player to get his attention.

"Do you want me to leave or do I need to stay in case you freeze again?"

"You don't need to say it so tartly, but you can stay."

"Yay!" Neal tore off another piece of chocolate and offered some to Felix.

"Oh, thank you, Neal." Player sat on his bed and let Felix have his desk chair. Neal put his earbuds in and dove back into his book and candy. The two gamers began a lengthy conversation while Neal listened behind his music.


	5. And They were Roommates

Ash leaned against the wall of the cafe playing on his phone. He pressed the home button and saw the time was 1:00. He put his phone back in his pocket when a girl around his age joined him on the wall.

"Thought I'd find you here, Ash," she said coolly.

"I'm surprised you weren't here first, Carmen," he said with the same tone. She made a noise of agreement. They both noticed the wary stares from the few people around them.

"I've missed those looks," Ash commented.

"What looks?"

"The looks teachers used to give us. They were always waiting for us to cause trouble."

"You mean _you_ cause trouble."

"Don't act like a saint. You caused just as much trouble as I did."

"Yeah, but I was mischievous. You were just mean." Ash made a dramatic face.

"How mean. I did no such thing."

"Once you slapped someone with a pizza slice you found on the ground." Ash thought about it and smiled.

"Oh yeah. Middle school was a fun time." They shared a chuckle as they remembered their school days.

"So how's your roommate?" Carmen then asked. "You haven't run him off yet have you?"

"No, not yet. He seems pretty strong-willed, so it might take longer to run him off." Ash looked up at the sound of the cafe bell ringing. "Speak of the devil," he muttered. Carmen looked at the door.

"Oh, hey Kel," she said seeing her roommate.

"Hi, Carmen. These are my friends; Neal, Thomas, and Jess."

"Hi. This is Ash. Say, Ash, don't you have a roommate named Jess?" she asked mischievously while kicking the back of his knee, making him stumble forward.

"Yeah, that's him right there," he said while pointing his thumb at him. Jess scowled at him.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jess. The Lynx hasn't run you off yet, has he?" She flashed her trademark side smile, making everyone but Ash shiver.

"No, and I won't let him," Jess said while still glaring at Ash, who just shrugged.

"You seem confident," the blonde commented. "I won't ruin that for you in front of your friends." He flicked Jess on the back of the head as he walked past him. "Bon Voyage." Then he walked into the cafe.

"Don't mind him," Carmen said. "He's just joking. I'll see you later, Kel." The redhead then left following Ash.

"You guys have some interesting roommates," Neal said sipping on his milkshake, seeming completely unbothered by what happened. 


	6. Doubts and Discussions

Eiji fumbled with the lock on the door. After about a minute of struggling with his key, he managed to get it open.

"Tae!" he said as he opened the door. The Korean looked up from his magazine.

"What?"

"You remember Milo, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"We're having dinner with him!" Taehyung's eyes lit up.

"Really!? When!?"

"Uh...in an hour or so?" Eiji said uncertainly. Taehyung gave him a look.

"You don't know, do you?"

"No. I guess we were so excited we forgot to set an actual time," he said embarrassed. Tae giggled at him.

"Do you have his number or something, then?" Taehyung asked as he started to fix his hair.

"Oh, yeah! I do!" Eiji pulled out his phone and texted Milo. "Hey, does Hoseok have any night classes?"

"Mmmm, I don't think so. I think he decided on morning classes like me."

"Oh really?" Eiji said in a teasing tone. "So he can be closer to you, huh?" Taehyung stuck his tongue out at him. The sound of a snapchat message went off. "Milo said around eight works."

"Works for me. Probably works for Hobi too."

"He'd do it for you anyway."

"Shut up!" Eiji chuckled and raised his hands in surrender.

"Seriously, though, why don't you two just get together already? It's obvious you both like each other."

"We'll start dating when you ask out that blonde guy you've been fawning over, which will be never probably." Now it was Eiji who stuck his tongue out. Taehyung's phone buzzed, and he saw it was a text from Hoseok.

"Hobi can make it too, now."

"Great!" Eiji started to get ready himself. He pulled off his hoodie and replaced it with his blazer. It was casual but still formal. "Alright, I'm ready." He was waiting for a snarky comment from Tae and was surprised when he didn't get one. He looked over his shoulder and saw Taehyung fiddling with his contacts case. He had a frown on his face.

"Hey what's wrong?" the Japanese boy asked concerned.

"What if he doesn't like me anymore?" he said quietly.

"Who, Milo?"

"Yeah. Compared to you or Hoseok, the only thing that has changed about me is my looks and its all artificial. Both you and Hoseok have grown in personality and maturity. What have I grown in? Nothing."

"Don't say that now. You've grown a lot from when I last saw you!"

"How?" Taehyung sniffed.

"Well, you used to try and take the easy way out. Now you want to do on your own, and you give your best in everything. You used to give up when something seemed to difficult, but now you take on the hardest challenges, especially if someone says you can't do it. Taehyung, you've grown up a lot from when we were little, and I've only been here a couple of days. If you can't see it, then I'm going to flick your nose until you do." Taehyung felt himself smile.

"You really think so?"

"I do, and I believe Milo would see it too." Taehyung's spirits lifted and Eiji wrapped a comforting arm around him.

"Thanks, Eiji. You've always been able to cheer us up." Eiji smiled.

"You're welcome. I'd say we could stay and reminisce, but Hoseok is asking where we are." Taehyung quickly sprung up and made sure he looked good to go out.

"Really? You're wearing that?" he commented to Eiji, who simply laughed.

"Glad to have you back Tae."


	7. Dinnertime Dispute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna change the title of this book any ideas cause I ain't got none pls-
> 
> Also love my friend she always helping me with chapter titles yes girl I love you boo 💙

The school has been going on for a week, and everything seemed to be alright. Groups began to form amongst the students, and Ash and Carmen were no exception. Ash had made friends with Shorter and Sing, two siblings from Chinatown in New York. Carmen also made friends with a sibling duo, but from Boston; Zack and Ivy. Together, they formed a pretty good-sized friend group. They had no problems with anyone else until Friday.

They were sitting around in the large cafeteria the school had when another group approached them. One of them strode forward to them. He had blonde pineapple hair and held a crazy look in his eyes. Ash recognized him from one of his classes.

"What do you want, Arthur?" he said in a bored tone. The other just shrugged.

"I just came to get one last look at your face before I smash it in."

"Go pick a fight somewhere else, Arthur," Shorter chimed in. Arthur smiled.

"You're right. I don't want to hurt the two pretty ladies here. Why don't we take this outside? I'll help you get there. Go fetch your friend!" He grabbed Zack's shirt and pulled him from out of his seat. Ivy jumped out of her seat and tried to pry his hands off Zack.

"Don't touch my brother!" she said angrily. Arthur raised a brow before throwing Zack to the ground and grabbing Ivy's shirt instead.

"I don't think you have any right to be giving me orders. Why don't you sit down and stay quiet as a good girl should?" At this point, the others had stood up as well.

"That's enough, Arthur. Let them go." His gaze met Ash's and they stared each other down before letting Ivy go. "Now leave."

"I'm not leaving until we fight. I'm sure there are many out in the crowd dying to see the Lynx get tamed." It was then Ash paid any attention to the growing crowd. He saw the way they were looking at them, whether it be in fear or excitement, or even both. However, Ash was trying not to fight for once in his life. He was tired of it and just wanted to eat his lunch in peace.

"I'm not fighting you," he said in a calm tone. "I'm a busy person, and I don't like spending my time on useless trash."

"Fighting is trash to you?"

"No, not at all. I think you are." Arthur's face twisted in anger and he swung his fist at Ash. Ash dodged it easily. "You really are committed to this, huh?" Arthur swung again, and Ash grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground. He pushed his foot into Arthur's head and pulled his arm back.

"I'm sure you have better things to do then get humiliated like this, so if you agree to walk away when I let you go, we'll have no further problems." Arthur didn't say anything so Ash pulled his arm back further and dug his foot in harder.

Someone then laid a hand on his shoulder. It was Carmen.

"He's not worth it," she said and motioned her head to the side. Someone was coming, whether a teacher or security they weren't sure, and Ash let out a sigh as he let go of Arthur. 

"I don't feel like getting in more trouble, so I'll let you off with a warning." He walked off, the others following warily behind.

"Which would be easiest; waiting in the dorm or just going straight to the office?" Carmen just shrugged at him.

"That's up to you." Ash sighed through his nose and made his way to the office. The others stayed with Carmen.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Carmen smiled softly at Sing.

"He'll be fine, just needs some space. This isn't the first time."


	8. I Hope Someday I'll Make it out of Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a long ass title
> 
> Yes I took a line from Lovely by Billie eilish I listened to that song on loop cause I didn't know what else to listen to-

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Ash looked up from his phone.

"Heard it before. Try something new."

"I mean it. Are you trying to get expelled?"

"Hey, I wasn't the one who started it. If he had just backed off I wouldn't have done anything. And it was just one fight. I didn't even beat him up badly."

"That still doesn't mean you won't get in trouble. Anyone can manipulate a situation."

"And you know that how?"

"Because it's everywhere!" Ash was taken back. Jess had never yelled at him before. "It's always there! You know this! You always go out and do this kind of stupid free, and because of father, you always get off scot-free! One day that's not going to happen! There's corruption everywhere, and it's going to turn on you! I will not see it happen to you too, Brendan!" When he finished, his face was red and he was out of breath.

"Jess," the other said softly, "I'm not Brendan." That's when Jess snapped back to reality.

"No, you're not. I'm sorry Ash." His legs shook underneath him as he stood up. "I'll be back later." Then he left.

He wasn't sure where to go. What he wanted was to be with Thomas, to be with him and wrapped in his arms safely. But, he didn't want to risk his life. Neal was his second option and his best one. Neal would understand. So that's where he went.

He knocked on the door softly, and the minute Neal opened it, he collapsed in his arms.

"Jess! What's wrong?" He didn't say anything and held onto Neal's arms tighter. One of the beds squeaked, and Neal turned to see Player watching them anxiously.

"Oliver, could you give us some privacy?" Player nodded and left for Felix's room. Neal then ushered Jess inside. "What happened Jess?" The other muttered something, with the words 'Ash' and 'Brendan' spoke the loudest.

"What about Brendan and Ash?" he asked carefully.

"I've started to project my brother onto Ash. I even yelled at him as if he was the one in the fight." His voice started to quaver. "I thought I've forgotten him. I thought I had gotten past my family. Why can't I forget them, Neal? Why can't I?" At this point, Jess was in tears.

"You can't forget them because you love them, Jess. There's nothing wrong with missing them."

"There is when it gets people killed! That's why I had to in the first place! Neal...I could have killed you."

"Don't speak like that Jess."

"It's true!"

"It's not. When you told me, it showed how much you trusted me. You trusted me with one of your biggest secrets. They didn't tell you what would happen and that's on them. Jess, we were kids. You had no idea. It's not your fault, and it never will be." Neal wrapped him in a hug again. "It's never been your fault. Your father is wrong."

Jess didn't know what to say, instead choosing to hug him back. He held on tightly, afraid to let him go again. If he let him go, he feared he wouldn't return.


	9. Love and Literature

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @my friend for my titles uwu

Hoseok made sure he had everything he needed before throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"I'm going over to Taehyung’s to study. You two crazy kids stay out of trouble, alright?" he said to Felix, who was playing cards on the floor with Player.

"Sounds good. Have fun." "Thanks! Bye Oliver!" Then he started to leave.

"Who's Taehyung?" Player asked Felix. 

"Hoseok's boyfriend," was all he said, and Hoseok just playfully rolled his eyes. He walked down to Taehyung’s room. Someone was playing music loudly, and Hoseok resisted the urge to dance in the middle of the hallway. Once he reached his destination, he pulled out the key he was given and gave a quick knock before opening the door. 

"Hi!" he said happily, his Sunshine Smile on his face. 

"Hi Hobi!" "Hi, Hoseok!" "Hoseokie!"

"What did I miss?" he asked while joining them on the floor.

"Nothing much. Eiji's been helping me with some homework."

"You mean doing it for you?" Taehyung gave a light tug to Milo’s hair, which he was currently braiding.

"Not true! I'm learning something!" Milo just chuckled at him.

Hoseok felt his heart swell with a feeling he thought he'd lost long ago. He was so happy to have the gang back together.

"So, how are your classes going?" Eiji asked, looking up from Taehyung’s homework.

"They're going good. I'm glad this school has a dance program."

"Are you planning on going to a performing arts school after this?"

"I think I am. I'm just not sure where."

"How long are you required to attend?" 

"I think four years, like everyone else." Hoseok hoped it was four years. He wanted to stay with his friends as long as possible. Mostly, he wanted to stay with Taehyung.

The conversation of homework lasted not very long, and it quickly turned to the day's earlier events, as well as Tae's favorite teasing subject; love interests.

"So what do you think happened to him?" Taehyung asked.

"What happened to who?"

"Don't act innocent Eiji, you know who." Eiji shrugged and took a bite of his pocky. 

"I don't think he'll get suspended or into too big of trouble," Hoseok chimed in. "That Arthur guy was the one who started it. If anyone should get punished harshly, it's him. He even grabbed those two people's shirts. That's a foul in my opinion."

"I think it's pretty cool how he stuck up for his friends. It shows how much he cares for them." Eiji swallowed his food before adding his two cents.

"I thought it was courageous. He didn't care what happened to him, he just cared about his friends. Ash seems like a really selfless and loyal person, and he's someone I wouldn't mind knowing. Not that I don't enjoy you guys or anything!" He saw the shit-eating grin that graced Taehyung's face.

"Wow, you really are falling hard for him."

"Shut up!" 

"Do you think Arthur will still keep picking fights? I heard he tried to pick some before the fight even."

"Probably. Troll Hair seems like an asshole."

"Taehyung, be nice," Hoseok scolded lightly.

"Fine." Taehyung stuck his tongue out when Hobi turned his back. Time seemed to pass by quickly, and soon it was time for them to go.

"This was fun! We should do this again!" Milo said. "I'll see you guys later! Bye!" Then he left. Hoseok wasn't far behind.

"Welp, I'm ready for a good night's sleep. Goodnight, Eiji." Taehyung yawned and put on some shorts to sleep in. Eiji put on his own nightclothes and went to bed.

"Goodnight Tae," he said to the Korean, who was already asleep. Eiji laid there in the dark, the events of the day replaying in his head, and a certain someone's face always appeared. He ran his hands over his face and felt himself smile.

"Wow, I really _am_ falling hard for him."


	10. Partners in Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're not partners in crime, just class-
> 
> I know I could've thought of something better

Monday was upon everyone once again, and so were the events of Friday in everyone's minds. After the show Ash put on, many students had gained respect, as well as a bit of fear, of him. His whole group became something they feared. No one wanted to get on heir bad sides and stir up Ash's wrath.

Sing felt hurt by it. He didn't like how everyone tensed up around him. Shorter told him it would all blow over soon, and that she shouldn't worry, but he just couldn't help it. He never liked feeling like an outcast.

"I've got one more class today," he thought. "I've just got to get through this and it'll all be over for today." He walked into the room his last class was being held and was already met with stares. He didn't meet them and hurried to his seat. As he sat there, his mind started to drift. It wasn't until the chair next to him scraped the floor that he snapped back to reality. He turned to his right and saw a short boy sit next to him.

"Hi," he said, "do you want to be partners?" Sing was confused.

"Partners? For what?"

"For the project we were assigned. I saw no one sit with you, so I thought I would."

"Oh. I must have not been paying attention." The Chinese felt his face heat up in embarrassment.

"That's okay! I took notes. So we're partners?" Sing smiled at him.

"Yeah." His partner smiled, and his face turned red once again, but not out of embarrassment this time.

"I'm glad! My name's Oliver, by the way." He held his hand out, and Sing shook it.

"I'm Sing."


	11. Fight or Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short because I didn't know what to do but I wanted to put something out there. Also, shoutout to my friend, as always! She always savin my ass when I can't come up with titles

"You planning on fighting someone too?" Carmen mentally groaned at the all too familiar phrase. All plans of socking the person who said it flew out the window though when she saw who it was.

"And if I am?" Kel just shrugged.

"I don't have a problem with it. Sometimes that's all you can do. Just try not to get expelled, alright?" Carmen smiled.

"Deal." Then she resumed to her punching bag. Kel thought of joining her but instead chose on weight lifting.

"How much you lift?" Carmen asked as Kel gathered her weights.

"I dunno, like 200 lbs." Carmen let out a whistle.

"I lift a similar weight. Say, why don't we have a little friendly competition?" Kel raised a brow.

"Really? What are you thinking?'

"A bit of everything. Weights, stamina, speed, everything else."

"I'm liking this. What's the catch?"

"How juvenile do you wanna get?"

"Very."

"Perfect. Loser eats dog food."

"Then you've got yourself a deal?" They shook hands, their grips tightening as they met each other's eyes.

"Is this the first challenge?"

"Perhaps." They continued their staredown, their grips not letting up.

"What are they doing?" Jess asked Neal.

"They're aggressively holding hands."

"Yeah I see that, but why?"

"Because they're beginning to believe."

"Believe what?"

"Shhh, don't worry about it."


	12. The Great Race

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look who's back-

"So, when's a good time to continue?"

"Tomorrow at 3 work?"

"Sounds good to me." Player stuffed the rest of his things into his bag then swung it over his shoulder. "Well, I guess I'll be off then."

"Wait," Sing stopped him. "Do you wanna come down with me to the track? I have a friend who's doing a race of some sort, and I was wondering if you'd like to come watch? You can bring a friend if you want." Player considered it then smiled.

"Sure! I'll text my friend Felix to see if he would like to come too."

"Okay, I'll wait." Player took out his phone and texted his friend, and it only took a minute or so before getting a response.

"He said he'll meet us at the gates."

"Sounds good." The two of them walked down to the football field, where they saw Felix waiting right where he said he would be.

"Hi, Felix! This is Sing!"

"Hey, I'm Felix. Nice to meet you." His deep voice threw Sing off slightly, but he didn't show it.

"Nice to meet you too, Felix." After they got acquainted, the three of them headed to find Sing's group.

"Oi, Sing!" The three looked over towards the home side bleachers and saw Shorter waving at them. Ash was scrolling through his phone while Zack and Ivy were singing "More Than a Feeling."

"Glad you made it Sing. Who's this?"

"Hey. This is Oliver, and this is Felix."

"Nice to meet you two. I'm Shorter. This here is Ash and those two are Zack and Ivy."

"Yo." "Hey!" "Sup?'

The three took a seat, and Sing pointed to another redhead on the track.

"That's Carmen. She's the one racing. Shorter, who's she racing against?"

"Her roommate, Kel." Shorter gestured to a brunette on the opposite side talking to presumably her own friend group. Player and Felix only recognized one, however, a kid with curlyish hair named Owen. He was a little confused sometimes but he had the spirit. Kel took her place next to Carmen when she finished talking to her friends. The look they shared between each other was a little chilling to Player.

Ash blew a whistle he had and the two were off. Zack, Sing, and Ivy cheered loudly for Carmen, trying to overpower the cheers of Owen and the others. Shorter joined in, then Ash, then finally Player and Felix, Player more than the latter. Kel was fast, but Carmen was faster, beating her by just a few steps or so. Carmen smiled as her friends cheered wildly, then shook her roommate's hand.

"That was fun. What's next?"

"Speed my be your thing, but stamina is mine. Treadmills at the gym?"

"Race you."

"Oh, you're on." Then they were off.

"Oop, there they go."

"Lookin like a married couple."

"Is that gonna be you one day, bro?"

"If there's food on the other side, then yeah." Player chuckled at the sibling's conversation. 

"You guys are funny."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should expand more with Felix and Player tbh


	13. Late Night Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About time I got this out.

Neal swatted at the finger poking his cheek. He held back a groan as it continued to pester him, as his stubborn side refused to turn over. The finger suddenly stopped, but before Neal could fall asleep he felt a sudden weight land on top of him.

"Ack!" He opened his eyes and saw Player laying on him. "What was that for?"

"I can't sleep." Neal blinked before letting out a sigh and turning to the clock. The large screen read three am.

"I told you not to play scary games before bed."

"Never telling you stuff again..." he grumbled. Neal rolled his eyes and reached for the lamp. Once it was on, he opened his bedside drawer and pulled out some candy. He handed Player a candy bar and opened a bag of jelly beans for the both of them. Player raised a brow with a smile.

"I thought you wanted me asleep?" Neal shrugged.

"A perfect excuse for snacks." Player hummed in agreement and leaned back on the wall. "So why are you up?"

"Mmm...I'm not really sure. All I know is I couldn't sleep."

"Fair enough." Neal popped a jelly bean in his mouth. "I saw you down at the track." Player raised a brow. He didn't remember seeing him. There was only Sing's group and the other girl's at the track. Unless...His thoughts were cut off by the sound of Neal laughing.

"Y-Your face!" Player turned red and looked away with a huff. "Don't worry about it, sometimes it happens."

Player bit into his candy bar, but it still weighed in his mind. How did he not notice? Why was he so dumb sometimes? Why-

He felt someone flick his head.

"Hey, didn't I say not to worry about it?" Player blinked before smiling. "Let's change the subject."

"Please." Neal grew a devious smile on his face.

"So, tell me about Sing."


End file.
